Rail tie and fastener



' April 15, 1924.

1,499,366 c. K. DUTZMAN RAIL TIE `AND FASTENER Filed Aug. l0, 1925 MWI Patented Apr. l5, i322@ entre BAIL TIE AND FASTENER.

Application led August 10, 1923.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL K. DUTZMAN, a citizen of Hungary, residing at Dilltown, in the county of Indiana and State of Pennsylvania, have invent-ed certain new and useful lmprovements in Rail Ties and Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to track rail securing means whereby the rails are fastened to the ties or sleepers, the invention having for an object to provide an improved and novel track rail fastening` means.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

Fig. 1 0f the drawings is a plan view showing a portion of a railroad track having;1 the invention applied thereto.

ig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section talren generally on the line 3 3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a modified form of rail fastener.

Fig. 5 is ay fragmentary plan view of a sleeper arranged to grip one sideJ of the rail with my improved device and the other side with an ordinary fixed claw.

In the drawing the reference numeral 10 indicates a track rail and 11 the tie or sleeper, the latter being preferably hollow. The rail is adapted to be gripped on opposite sides by novel fastening devices. Each fastening device comprises a pair of latch arms 13 and 14 pivoted together at one end as at 15 and which are inserted, pivot ends downward, in suitable openings in the sleeper. These latches present on their remote faces shoulders 20 which are adapted to engage under the edges of the openings in the ties or sleepers to hold the latches in place.

Near its upper end the latch 13 is formed with a lateral projection 19 which engages over the foot of the rail to secure the latter to the tie, while the latch 14 has a projection 2O on its upper end turned oppositely from y the projection 19. On the latter projection are formed a pair of hinge ears 22 to which is hinged a lever arm 23 having pivotally connected thereto between its ends as at 24 the upper end of a wedge 25 which extendsn Serial No. 656,704.

downward between the latch arms 13 and 14 and holds the latter spaced apart and with the shoulder 18 thereon engaging under the edges of the opening in the tie. Screwed into a suitable tapped socket in the head 2O of the arm 14 is a screw 27 which has its upper end turned laterally at 27 and which is engaged over the lever to hold the latter against upward displacement. To prevent disengagement of the locking element 27 from the lever 23 a spring latch 31 may be mounted on the latter to engage said element. To ensure of firm holding of the rail the shoulder 18 is inclined so as to cause the arms to move downward slightly as theyare forced apart by the wedge 25.

If it is desired to remove the rail at any time the screw 27 is turned to free the lever arm 23, and the latter swung upward, drawing with it the wedge 25, which thus leaves the iatch arms 13 and 14 free to move toward one another to disengage the shoulder 18 from the edge of the opening 16 and permit of the device being drawn upward from the tie. To facilitate removal of the. fastener l may mount a bar spring 28 in the tie under each pair of devices to be coinpressed when the device is inserted in position.

While, as will be understood, my improved fastening means may be engaged with the walls of openings formed directly in the tie to lock the rail rigidly to the latter, I have here shown the rail as resting on a rectangular plate 35 having a dependent flange 36 extending around the edge thereof and engaging snugly in a suitable aperture 35 in the tie, the openings to receive the fastening devices above described being formed in this plate. At its lower end the iange 36 is laterally extended as at 37 to engage under the walls of the opening in the tie and may be upturned at its ends as at 38 to interlock behind ribs 39 on the tie.

The plate 35 is resiliently supported to have slight yielding movement by means of spring straps 40', downward movement being limited by posts 41 fixed to a plate 42 in the bottom of the tie.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a slightly modified form of the device comprising the latch arms 13' and 14' which engage the rail and tie as above set forth, but instead of the pair of ears 22 the arm 13 has only a single ear at one side thereof to which is pivoted the lever 22 having connected thereto an ear 25Zt projected upward from one side of the wedge 25.

In Figs. l and 2 of the drawings I have shown my improved removable rail fastener applied to both sides of the rail. I may however, if desired, apply the fastener to one side of the rail and provide a fixed claw 40 as in Fim 5 to engage the other side of the rail, the opening in the tie to directly receive the removable fastener being shown at 16 in Fig. 5.

As will be apparent, with my improved rail fastener in use, the rail can be readily removed for replacing without requiring the use of special tools such as spike pullers or the like, and an economy in time in replacing worn rails is thus effected.

It will be understood of course that varions other changes and modifications might be made in the precise construction of my improved rail fastener without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows 1. In combination, a recessed railroad tie having an aperture in its top wall leading into the interior thereof, a pair of latch arms hinged together at one end and presentingshoulders adapted to engage under the edges of the aperture in the tie, one of said latch arms being adapted to engage and hold the rail, and removable means for retaining said arms in position with their shoulders so engaged.

2. In combination, a recessed railroad tie having an aperture in its top wall leadingI into the interior thereof, a pair of latch arms hinged together at one end and presenting shoulders adapted to engage under the edges of the aperture in the tie, one of said latch arms being adapted to engage and hold the rail, and removable means for retaining said arms in position with their shoulders so engaged, said means comprising a wedge inserted between the said arms.

3. In combination, a recessed railroad tie havin@ an aperture in its top wall leading into the interior thereof, a pair of latch arms hinged together at one end and presenting shoulders adapted to engage under the edges of the aperture in the tie, one of said latch arms being adapted to engage and hold the rail, and removable means for retaining said arms in position with their shoulders so engaged, said means comprising a wedge inserted between the said arms, a lever arm hinged to one of said latch arms and having the wedge connected thereto for withdrawing the wedge from between the arms.

4. In combination, a recessed railroad tie having an aperture in its top wall leading into the interior thereof, a pair of latch arms hinged together at one end and presenting shoulders adapted to engage under the edges of the aperture in the tie, one of said latch arms being adapted to engage and hold the rail, and removable means for retaining said arms in position with their shoulders so engaged, said means comprising a wedge inserted between the said arms, a lever arm hinged to one of said latch arms and having the wedge connected thereto for withdrawing the wedge from between the arms, and a locking crevice for the lever arm.

5. In combination, a recessed railroad tie having an aperture in its top wall leading into the interior thereof, a pair of latch arms hinged together at one end and presenting shoulders adapted to engage under the edges of the aperture in the tie, one of said latch arms being adapted to engage and hold the rail, and removable means for taining said arms in position with their shoulders so engaged. said means comprising a wedge inserted between the said arms`v a lever arm hinged to one of said latch arms and having the wedge connected thereto for withdrawing the wedge from between the arms,V and a locking device for the lever arm, consisting of ascrew engaged in one of the latch arms and having a laterally turned end adapted to engage over the lever.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

*ARL K. DUTZMAN. 

